“Plein-Air” is the French expression to describe the act of painting in situ within the landscape, capturing the ever changing weather and light with tonal qualities, colour, loose brushwork and softness of form...
Jane Chapin, Storm Over Assateague, 2013, oil on linen board, 8 x 10 in.
The practice of “Plein Air Painting” goes back for centuries but was truly made into an art form by the French Impressionists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir who were advocating of plein air painting. Much of their work was done outdoors in the diffuse light of a large white umbrella.
"Waterfall at Terni" by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot; 1826, oil on paper, laid down on wood, 12 1/8 x 10 1/2 in.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Whitney Collection, Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003
“I noticed that everything that was done correctly on the first attempt was more true and the forms more beautiful”
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)
Plein Air Landscapes 1855-1870
Another major proponent of Plein Air was Jean Baptiste Camille Corot whom Claude Monet considered as “The only One Master here”. Corot provides a transition from the sharp academic style that ruled in his day with focus on the natural world and the lyrical expressiveness of one's work.
“I noticed that everything that was done correctly on the first attempt was more true and the forms more beautiful”
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)
Plein Air Landscapes 1855-1870
Jane Chapin, Appearance, 2018, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in.
With her "Plein Air Paintings", Jane Chapin is part of one of the largest art movements in history. Her paintings carry human emotions. We can read her moods and feelings with places that carry deep remembrances for the artist that go beyond the descriptive.
Jane Chapin, Coming in and Going Out, 2014, oil on linen board, 8 x 10 in.
"My paintings grow from observing and interpretating light as it emerges from, surrounds and reflects on everyday people and scenes. They seek to remind us of the beauty of our common surroundings, regardless of where we are." - Jane Chapin
Jane Chapin, Vermillion at Lee's Ferry, 202, 8 x 10 in. oil on linen board
"Painting sensitizes me to look for the grace and dignity and order in what I see." - Jane Chapin
Jane Chapin
Originally from rural Pennsylvania, Jane Chapin grew up sketching and painting the people and scenes around her. A year and as a foreign exchange student broadened her influences and began a lifelong love of travel. After receiving her Bachelors in Art from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, Chapin was an art teaching volunteer in the Peace Corps, an experience which reinforced her connection with the richness and diversity of her visual surroundings. Believing that painting is about the journey as much as the destination, in 2007 Chapin challenged herself to paint en plein air in all 50 states, resulting in a three year project that would culminate in two benefit books for veterans and their families.
Her work has been exhibited internationally with Art Renewal Center and nationally with Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, Salon International, Plein Air Painters of the Southeast and Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. Chapin resides with her husband dividing their time between Pecos, NM and their Cody, WY ranch where she maintains her studio. She is represented in numerous private fine art galleries in the United States. She is also a teacher and guest speaker
Jane Chapin, alaska, 2003, oil on linen panel, 10 x 12 in.
"Beyond this, the endless mountains curving like a scimitar. And in the querulous mind, the yearning heart, a sudden immeasurable calm." - Tom Sexton, Autumn in the Alaska Range